Til Lease Do Us Part
by snowdrifts
Summary: Living with your ex must have some advantages, right? [Lucas x Maya.]
1. Prologue

**A/N: New story time! So, I might have said some things about not starting stories as long as one is finished, but I'm a compulsive liar. So. Here it is.**

 **I have had some trouble with inspiration and writing for a while, so I decided that a nice short Lucaya story could put me back in writing mood! I know exactly how this story ends and it's all mapped out, so hopefully this will go well. I'm very excited for this story, because I have never written stories where Lucas and Maya bicker a lot. We'll see how it goes.**

 **This story is lightly based off of the web series of the same name, so if you have seen the ending, please do not spoil it in the review section. :) I'm hoping you guys will like this story!**

 **P.S: We will meet Riley and Farkle in a couple of chapters! Yay!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I read through this stupid thing like, eight times. There are no loopholes."

Maya Hart sighed, running her fingers through her wild mane of blonde hair. She looked over at her newly ex-boyfriend, who seemed as defeated as her about this. Lucas shook his head, looking back down at the lease, hoping to find some sort of fine print that said _Hey guys, if you ever break up, you can leave whenever you want to avoid the awkwardness from a situation NOBODY wants to be in!_ Sadly, no such fine print was to be seen.

"Maybe we can just shred it and throw away the evidence." Maya proposed.

"Yeah, good idea," Lucas replied sarcastically. "After we do, we can ride off into the sunset together and straight off a cliff."

The small blonde glared at him, snatching the lease from his hands and making her way into her bedroom. The man reluctantly followed her to the room that was once theirs, averting his eyes from a picture frame that neither of them had taken down of the two of them.

Maya practically threw herself on her bed, burying her face in her new pillowcases. She groaned loudly, wondering how the hell they had gotten in that situation.

Her ex watched her, hesitating before he spoke again. "Listen… Maybe we can make this work. This can't be too bad."

She didn't reply.

"We only have three months, and then our lease is up." He waited to see if she would move. She was strangely quiet. "We can start looking at apartments on each of our sides and in three months, we'll both be out of each other's lives. For good."

She finally sat up, averting her eyes from his. "I mean, we're both broke. We have nowhere else to stay. I guess it couldn't be so bad."

Lucas went to her, taking a seat on the bed. "It's the only option I can think of."

"I could give you plenty of other options." Maya replied, venom dripping from her words. The blond did his best to ignore her words and stood up, grabbing a duffel bag from the bedroom floor, making his way to the den of their apartment. He still didn't understand why he had to sleep in the den; it didn't even have a fourth wall or a door for that matter, but Maya didn't seem to care. Her only argument was that she was a woman, and women needed their privacy. It's not like he hadn't seen her naked before. He didn't get the big deal because in all the years he knew Maya Hart, he had never considered her a _private_ person. She was the total opposite of private.

He put the duffel bag down and sat on his new bed, looking out the window. The streets were busy, and the sun was beaming down on the people outside. It almost felt like scenery that Maya would paint.

Lucas grabbed his phone, dialing a number he knew by heart. "I miss you." He said as soon as the phone stopped ringing. "Can I see you?" He asked, his voice softening. The man slowly stood up, tip-toeing over to his ex's room, leaning his back against her bedroom wall.

"It hasn't even been five minutes." She said. Maya's back was pressed against her doorframe, speaking through the phone, as if it was an easier way to communicate with Lucas.

"I know. It's just… It's just weird because it's an open wound."

"In a week, we'll be completely over each other."

"Yeah."

"Yeah."

An awkward silence filled the apartment before Maya spoke again. "Can we have sex?"

Lucas laughed dryly. "No, Maya." He could practically imagine her smirk.

"Don't worry, Ranger Rick," She started, her tone getting serious again. "It'll all be okay soon." Maya continued. She paused. "I'm going to go take a nap. Just thinking about moving all of your stuff across the apartment is making me _exhausted_."

Lucas couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lips. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

"Okay. Bye. I love-" Maya cut herself off. "Shit. Fuck." She said, hanging up her phone. He heard her walk to her bed and practically throw herself onto it, like she always did. He shut his phone and stayed against the wall, hoping she would come out and speak to him.

A couple of minutes later, he could hear the soft snoring coming from her room.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: New chapter! I am so amazed at the response this story got, both on here and on Tumblr. I'm very glad everyone is enjoying it as much as I am! Because you guys got me so excited, I decided to write the first chapter immediately! I'm still debating on changing the summary, but I like my summaries short and sweet. :)**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Lucas' alarm blared through the den at eight, signaling the beginning of his day. He reluctantly turned around and practically slammed his hand on the alarm clock, leaving it to rest for a few seconds before sitting up on his bed. The man stood up, wiping at his eyes, waiting for his brain to catch up with his body. He stretched languidly before scratching at his head. He could smell the paint fumes coming from the small study, suggesting that Maya had probably stayed up all night to paint.

He made his way to the bathroom and swung open the half-closed door, only to find his ex-girlfriend sitting on the toilet while brushing her teeth. If he wasn't awake before, he sure as hell was now.

He heard her yelp in protest as he quickly shut the door. He pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Why didn't you shut the door?" He asked through the door, leaning against the wall next to it.

"You weren't awake! And it's not like you haven't seen me like this before!" Maya answered loudly, her words muffled by the toothbrush she hadn't bothered to take out of her mouth before speaking to him. He only sighed in annoyance.

He heard the toilet flush and Maya opened the door on his side, glaring at him. "Look, if we're going to live together, we need to stop seeing each other naked."

The small blonde pulled her hair up into a ponytail, oblivious to the fact that her crop top was riding up. Lucas couldn't help but glance down, before snapping his eyes back to hers. "You could clearly hear the shower running." He said, referring to yesterday, when Maya had walked in on him showering. Like her, out of habit, he hadn't bothered to lock the two bathroom doors when he had jumped in the shower the previous day. It had resulted into an argument and him leaving angry for work.

Maya shut the door and leaned her back against it, standing a little too close to Lucas for his liking. It wouldn't have bothered him if they had still been together, but he could feel his body react in a way he didn't want to. Breaking up with Maya had been one of the hardest things he had ever had to do, and standing so close to her brought back many memories that he didn't necessarily feel like remembering in this moment. Her eyes were looking over at the couch, and he assumed that she was also remembering some moments she didn't particularly feel like remembering at this moment.

Their eyes met and he gulped loudly. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out for a second. "I'm going to go eat breakfast." He finally said, moving away from his ex-girlfriend. She stood there for a second, before following him to the nearby kitchen.

He took out two bowls and placed them on the small kitchen island as Maya took the milk out of the fridge in silence. Lucas proceeded by taking out his favourite kind of cereal and Maya's, pouring her a bowl. She added the milk to hers and did the same to Lucas' before he put in the cereal. They had gone through this breakfast routine so many times now that their movements were almost automatic.

Lucas sat down and Maya followed shortly after, handing him a spoon. The two ate in silence, glancing at each other now and then, hoping the other would speak first. Lucas was the first one to break the silence. "So, what are you working on?" He asked.

He knew that Maya loved speaking about her work, so maybe talking about art would break this weird tension going on between them.

She put her spoon down, looking over at him, her blue eyes lighting up at the mention of her art. He gave her an encouraging smile.

"You know that little coffee shop we always go to?" She asked. He nodded. "Well, the owner saw some of my work. Apparently, Missy wouldn't shut up about it. She looked me up and called, asking if I could paint a piece for the shop."

"What's it about?"

"Karen – the owner – asked if I could paint Central Park during autumn. She asked for something warm, but colourful. I went out there, got Missy to take a couple of pictures for me and I immediately came back here to get started. I was up all night, but at least I finished it." Maya said, yawning at the end of her sentence. Lucas knew that Maya had never been one to get much sleep during the night. She would either sleep four hours or twelve hours. There was no in between with her. There was never an in between with her.

Maya stood up, taking her unfinished bowl of cereal to the bathroom to flush it down. "In fact, I was headed there to bring the painting. Karen is supposed to be there by now." She called out from the bathroom. The blonde came back to the kitchen, picking up Lucas' empty bowl and taking them to the sink. Lucas stood up to go do the dishes, knowing very well that Maya wouldn't bother to do them. She stepped away to let him do his job.

"Do you want me to pick up some coffee?" She asked.

"Yes, please."

The blonde nodded and went to the den, probably on her search for some money to pay his coffee (and probably hers, too).

Lucas finished washing the dishes and cleaned up the small mess in the kitchen. He didn't have to work today, which he was glad for. He needed some down time after this break-up, and it was the first time he would be alone in the apartment.

Maya came back to the kitchen before leaving, and Lucas handed her a double of the keys. She had recently lost her keys at work, and since she hadn't gone back to the restaurant, she hadn't had the time to look for them.

The blond watched his ex as she went into the study to pick up the painting. He only caught a glance of it before she left. It was truly a beautiful scenery, the park bench surrounded by trees covered in red and orange leaves. It looked very familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

He went into the bathroom, hoping that when he got out of the shower, Maya would be back with his coffee.

Once he was inside the shower, hot water running down his body, he finally felt relaxed. For the first time in weeks, he was feeling a lot let stressed out. His brain was usually filled with thoughts about work, thoughts about his family, thoughts about Maya. It was good to know that he could be alone for a few minutes. He was never alone in the apartment – he would leave for work before Maya and would arrive an hour after she was done working at the restaurant. Working as an assistant-veterinarian was great, but sometimes, he catches himself wondering what it would be like if he had a much simpler job and less hours.

His mind drifted back to Maya's painting, and that's when he finally recognized the scene. It was the park bench where he had asked her to move in with him on their anniversary. She had chosen to paint that memory and hang it in a coffee shop that they liked to call theirs, where they both went every single day to get coffee.

Lucas got out of the shower, drying himself off before wrapping the towel around his waist. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to be angry, sad, or flattered. After all, she could have painted any part of Central Park, but she chose that one section.

The man made his way to the den, dropping his towel and stepping into the clothes he had picked out for the day. He looked at the calendar he had hung a while ago onto the wall, back when the den wasn't his room. His eyes found today's date and suddenly, Maya's painting made sense. It was the 23rd. It might have been only three weeks since their break-up, but today would have marked their three year anniversary.

He grabbed the calendar out of rage and ripped it away from the wall, throwing it to the opposite side of the den. He heard the door shut and he quickly collected himself, walking to the front door. Maya handed him his coffee before she kicked off her shoes. Before she went to the living room, her eyes met Lucas'.

"Are you okay?" She asked, furrowing her brows.

"I'm fine." He replied, his voice strangely calm. Maya didn't push.

The blonde made her way to the living room, looking over at the den behind the couch. She couldn't help but notice that the calendar wasn't hanging on the wall anymore, but instead was sprawled on the floor, part of the thin paper ripped at the edge.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here is the second chapter to Til Lease Do Us Part. This chapter is a few words shorter than usual - I would rather have shorter chapters because there are mostly time jumps in between chapters. The next few ones will definitely be longer, because that's when shit hits the fan, if you want.**

 **A lot of you have been wondering why they broke up, well, you get to take a look at that this chapter! Throughout the story, there will be many hints and short flashbacks to help you guys piece it together.**

 **I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Maya walked into the kitchen, stretching her arms. Her sleeping pattern had never been as bad as it was now; the blonde was lucky if she even got 3 hours of sleep at night.

She opened the door to the refrigerator, searching for something to eat for dinner. Her eyes found the defrosted meat she vaguely remembered putting in there last night and her stomach growled. Maya took it out of the refrigerator, in hopes that it would give Lucas a hint as to what he could cook for dinner. It's not that she wasn't a good cook; she was just feeling so out of it from the lack of sleep that she could probably confuse dirt from their many potted plants as the actual meat she had to cook.

The blonde then sat at the kitchen island, where her breakfast sat under a piece of tin foil. She tore off the tin foil sheet, hoping she wouldn't have to warm up her pancakes in the microwave.

No such luck.

As she waited for her breakfast to warm up, Maya heard the front door shut. She assumed Lucas had heard her wake up and had decided to go out to get her a coffee at the shop.

She took out the warm pancakes from the oven and the maple syrup from the refrigerator just as Lucas walked into the kitchen to put a hot cup of coffee in front of her. Maya smiled gratefully at him and put down her plate and the syrup before taking it from his hand.

"You didn't get yourself one?" She questioned, noticing his empty hands.

He hesitated for a few seconds before answering. "No, I decided to drink it there."

"Why?"

"Do I need a reason?"

"You never drink it there." Maya pointed out.

Lucas sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, clearly frustrated by Maya's questions. It took a few seconds for Maya to figure out why he had taken his coffee there.

He had been gone for over an hour, after all.

"…You had a date?" She finally asked. Her voice wavered and she hoped he hadn't noticed.

"I did." He finally answered.

Her eyes left his for a second before meeting up again. When she did, her expression was blank, unlike Lucas'. "So, you wait for what, 2 minutes and you're already throwing yourself at someone else?" Maya asked. Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, and Lucas felt very uncomfortable as he stared into her empty eyes, searching for some kind of answer to her question.

"It's been a month." He finally said.

Maya nodded in understanding – or at least, he hoped so. The blonde shut her eyes momentarily before turning around and going back to her room, leaving both her coffee and her breakfast untouched.

* * *

Her drawing was finally interrupted by the growling in her stomach. Maya finally snapped out of the trance she had been in and stared at her sketchpad blankly, questioning why she had stopped drawing. It finally dawned on her when her stomach growled yet again.

Maya stood up from her bed, where she had been sitting since this morning. Her eyes found the clock in her bedroom – it was just past 7 P.M.

She listened carefully at her door, waiting to see if Lucas was there.

Nothing.

The blonde stepped out of her room, making her way to the kitchen for the second time today. She noticed Lucas on the couch and stopped abruptly. She held her breath, hoping he was asleep. He would take naps whenever something (or someone, in this case) had upset him.

She continued her route to the kitchen, where a sandwich sat, untouched. Lucas had left his dirty place on the small island, indicating that he had probably waited for her before eating. Maya knew if she ate the sandwich, he would think she was warming up to him. She didn't want that. She was angry. He knew that.

Still, the blonde sat down and ate, every bite relaxing her a little bit. Her eyes found Lucas' sleeping body and she felt anger rise up again. She knew it wasn't the mature thing to feel, but she couldn't help herself. He had hurt her.

Yes, it had been a month since their break-up, but she didn't think he could move on that fast. She hoped it would be her that would move on first, leaving him broken-hearted yet again. But she knew she couldn't hurt him like this again.

She hadn't meant to hurt him, just like he hadn't meant to hurt her today.

 _If you walk out that door, we're through._

The memory hit her hard. She wiped at her cheek, finally noticing that she had been crying. She told herself that she was being weak, she told herself what her mother would have told her: a boy was no reason to cry for.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Lucas wake up. The man let out a quiet yawn and rubbed the sleepiness from his eyes before standing up and finally seeing her. He wasn't sure what to say – she could practically hear him racking his brain for something to say.

"I'm okay." Maya said. Lucas nodded and made his way to her, sitting on the stool next to hers. She picked up the two empty plates and moved away to the sink, not ready to be so physically close to Lucas right now.

"It was just coffee. I don't even think she's that interested in me." Lucas said. Maya shook her head as she put the plates down into the sink.

"Then she's crazy." The blonde concluded. The two settled into an uncomfortable silence before Lucas stood up and moved closer to her, yet again.

"You said it yourself," He stared, staring into her eyes, carefully choosing his words. "We need to move on, eventually."

Maya nodded in response, looking away from his green eyes. She felt bad for making him feel like this, but she understood. She knew it was time for her to move on, too.

When her eyes met his, the two paused. Maya felt the urge to lean in, but she couldn't. She knew Lucas would have done the same, but instead, he settled for kissing her on the forehead before heading back to the den, his tiredness getting the best of him. Maya decided to head back to her room, finally feeling tired after so many days of restlessness.

* * *

" _Maya, I swear, if you walk out that door, we're through."_

" _No, we're not."_

" _Yes, we are. For good." Lucas reasoned. After weeks of reckless behavior on Maya's side, he was getting tired of never knowing where she was, or what she was doing._

" _I'm just going for a couple of days. Then we can work it out." Maya proposed._

" _No. If you walk out, we're done."_

 _He was just tired of the constant fights._

 _The constant feeling that something bad might have happened to her._

 _The constant fear that she had gotten herself arrested._

 _The constant feeling that she would be leaving him._

 _He couldn't go through being left again._

 _Still, Maya grabbed the duffel bag next to their bedroom door and her jacket. She left, without looking back over her shoulder to look at him._

 _He went to the door, looking through the peephole, hoping she was going to be there, waiting for him. The blonde stood there, her eyes on the door, looking to be debating whether or not she should go. He hoped she wouldn't._

 _Her eyes shut for a few seconds before she turned around, leaving almost three years of her life behind._


End file.
